Lululemon Is Counting On Getting 6-Year-Olds Hooked On Its Clothing – Hayley Peterson

December 15, 2014

Lululemon is training a whole new generation of yoga enthusiasts with a brand targeting girls as young as six.

Ivivva Athletica, pronounced “ih — vee — va,” will have 20 stores open by the end of the year.

The brand is a bright spot for the company. Ivivva’s same-store sales soared 37% in the most recent quarter, according to Lululemon CEO Laurent Potdevin. During the same time period, sales at Lululemon stores open at least a year fell 3%.

The company began opening Ivivva stores in 2009 and has accelerated new store openings in the last year.

The brand targets girls between the ages of 6 and 15 years old with brightly colored sports bras, leggings, yoga pants, leotards, jackets and hoodies made from the same materials as Lululemon apparel. The apparel runs in sizes 4 to 14.

“I’m very, very excited about the work that we are doing with Ivivva,” Lululemon CEO Laurent Potdevin said on a call with analysts in September, after noting that Ivivva had clocked a 36% increase in same-store sales for the second quarter. “We are creating the next generation of Lululemon guests, so a very exciting prospect, and in the meantime we’re doing great work in our communities with little girls.”

The clothing is cheaper than Lululemon’s, but it’s substantially more expensive than most girls’ activewear.

Like its parent company, Ivivva hosts in-store yoga, Zumba and other athletic classes. The stores also hold “Dreams and Goals” sessions, which are like support groups for young girls.

The brand’s Facebook page, which has more than 73,000 fans, is teeming with photographs of young girls dancing, stretching, and striking poses in their Ivivva apparel.

“These leggings are perfect for dance, yoga etc as well as school and sleepovers with your BFFs,” one happy customer wrote on the company’s website about the “rhythmic tight” leggings.

Another customer wrote of the “dedication pant,” “I wear these pants basically, every day, or whenever I can. I COMMAND YOU TO BUY THESE PANTS!!! Seriously I will die if you don’t buy these pants!”

The first Ivivva stores opened in 2009 in Canada and the website was launched in 2011. The company now has nearly 20 stores and 36 showrooms in the U.S. and Canada. The U.S. locations include Dallas, Houston, Manhattan, Boston, Chicago, St. Louis, Mo., Bellevue, Wash. and Scottsdale, Ariz. Continue reading >>